As a college student, I am constantly trying to find more efficient ways of studying and note taking. I value the importance of a quality education, but I also value time spent with family and friends. Our time in school is limited to four short years and I want to be spend as little of that precious time confined in the solitude of the library preparing for exams as possible.

Thankfully, there is a new device on the market which promises to help me do just that. The Kno tablet, produced by a company called Kno, Inc., is essentially an electronic textbook consisting of two 14 inch touchscreens joined by a center hinge. Unlike the increasingly popular iPad produced by Apple, the Kno supports Adobe Flash and has double the viewable screen space, giving users even more of what they want.

Kno CEO Osman Rashid remarked that the tablet will soon be all you need to bring with you to the class or office, especially since the frontman is said to be teaming up with textbook providers around the country. Compared to a traditional textbook, the Kno tablet will allow students to write and organize notes in one place, as well as surf the internet, watch videos and basically concentrate on everything but their studies.

Now, I fully support the wonderful direction in which technology pushes us, but I think this is a tad ridiculous. While the tablet may allow you to access all of your textbook information in one succinct device, don’t we have enough distractions in school without our books being able to access Facebook and Twitter as well as our lap tops? Not to mention the fact that after a frustrating night of studying, a traditional textbook will withstand a stress relieving throw to the wall, whereas the Kno tablet most likely will not.

The Kno tablet creators may be trying to jump on the latest technology fad and capitalize on the iPad consumer market, but to expect to render real books obsolete is more than a lofty ambition for the new device. With technology and social media outlets beginning to occupy previously untouched areas of school, work and home life, how far is too far? Do you think the tablet is worth the close to $1,000 price tag or would you be content reading a traditional textbook? -Christina Cherel